Method and system for tracking health in animal populations

ABSTRACT

An animal health monitoring system includes a plurality of animal tag assemblies configured for being disposed on members of an animal population, each of the animal tag assemblies including one or more sensors configured to measure one or more animal characteristics of a member of the animal population. The system includes a concentrator communicatively coupled to the plurality of animal tag assemblies and configured to acquire one or more animal characteristics from the plurality of animal tag assemblies. The system includes a controller communicatively coupled to the concentrator and configured to receive the acquired one or more animal characteristics from the plurality of animal tag assemblies from the concentrator, determine a health state of one or more of the members of the animal population based on the received one or more animal characteristics and report the determined health state to one or more user devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliestavailable priority dates for other than provisional patent applicationsor claims benefits under 35 USC § 119(e) for provisional patentapplications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Related Application(s)).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

-   -   The present application constitute a continuation-in-part        application of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application entitled        METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRACKING HEALTH IN ANIMAL POPULATIONS,        naming Vishal Singh as inventor, filed Jul. 15, 2016,        application Ser. No. 15/212,091, which constitutes a        continuation-in-part application of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent        Application entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRACKING HEALTH IN        ANIMAL POPULATIONS, naming Vishal Singh as inventor, filed Dec.        3, 2015, application Ser. No. 14/958,829, which constitutes a        continuation-in-part application of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent        Application entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRACKING HEALTH IN        ANIMAL POPULATIONS, naming Vishal Singh as inventor, filed Sep.        8, 2015, application Ser. No. 14/847,930, which constitutes a        non-provisional patent application of the following U.S.        Provisional Patent Applications: METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRACKING        BIOMETRIC AND ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IN ANIMAL POPULATIONS, naming        Vishal Singh as inventor, filed Sep. 5, 2014, Application Ser.        No. 62/046,702; METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRACKING HEALTH IN ANIMAL        POPULATIONS, naming Vishal Singh as inventor, filed Jan. 30,        2015, Application Ser. No. 62/110,230; METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR        TRACKING HEALTH IN ANIMAL POPULATIONS, naming Vishal Singh as        inventor, filed Jun. 24, 2015, Application Ser. No. 62/184,158;        and METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DATA TRANSFER IN A TAGGED ANIMAL        POPULATION, naming Vishal Singh, Paul Hoffmeyer and Spencer        Keller as inventors, filed Sep. 4, 2015, Application Ser. No.        62/214,568.    -   The present application also constitutes a continuation-in-part        application of PCT/US15/49006 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR        TRACKING HEALTH IN ANIMAL POPULATIONS, naming Vishal Singh as        inventor, filed Sep. 8, 2015.    -   Each of the above-listed applications is incorporated herein by        reference in the entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to animal health tracking, and,in particular, to the tracking of physiological and/or behavioralparameters of multiple animals in an animal population.

BACKGROUND

Identifying and treating illness in early stages of livestockdevelopment can aid in reducing herd disease outbreak, and reduce herdloss and the need for culling. There are a variety of illnesses fromwhich confined cattle commonly suffer. Diseases of the respiratorysystem are a major cause of illness and death in cattle. One suchillness includes Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRD), which oftenturns into severe and/or fatal bacterial pneumonia. It is further notedthat major viruses such as Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR),parainfluenza virus, syncytial virus, and bovine virus are often aprecursor to BRD. Antibiotics are often not effective, especially whentreated in later stages of the illness. As such, early detection of thedisease is critical in minimizing herd loss. Currently, the most commonidentification of sickness is via rectal temperature and visual cues,which often occur well beyond early onset of symptoms, such as fever, ofthe given illness. As such, it would be advantageous to provide a systemand method that provides illness identification and/or diagnosis thatcures the deficiencies of prior approaches identified above.

SUMMARY

A system for monitoring one or more characteristics in an animalpopulation is disclosed, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In one illustrative embodiment, the system includes aplurality of animal tag assemblies, each animal tag assembly configuredfor being disposed on a member of the animal population, each of theanimal tag assemblies including one or more sensors configured tomeasure one or more animal characteristics of the member of the animalpopulation. In another illustrative embodiment, the system includes aconcentrator communicatively coupled to the plurality of animal tagassemblies and configured to acquire one or more animal characteristicsfrom the plurality of animal tag assemblies. In another illustrativeembodiment, the system includes a controller communicatively coupled tothe concentrator, wherein the controller includes one or more processorsconfigured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory andconfigured to cause the controller to: receive the acquired one or moreanimal characteristics from the plurality of animal tag assemblies fromthe concentrator; determine a health state of one or more of the membersof the animal population based on the received one or more animalcharacteristics; and report the determined health state to one or moreuser devices.

A system for monitoring one or more characteristics in an animalpopulation is disclosed, in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

In one illustrative embodiment, the system includes a plurality ofanimal tag assemblies, each animal tag assembly configured for beingdisposed on a member of the animal population, each of the animal tagassemblies including at least one of a temperature sensor, anaccelerometer, a magnetometer or gyroscope. In another illustrativeembodiment, the system includes a concentrator communicatively coupledto the plurality of animal tag assemblies and configured to acquirereadout data from at least one of the temperature sensor, theaccelerometer, the magnetometer or the gyroscope. In anotherillustrative embodiment, the system includes a controllercommunicatively coupled to the concentrator, wherein the controllerincludes one or more processors configured to execute a set of programinstructions stored in memory and configured to cause the controller to:receive the acquired readout data from the at least one of thetemperature sensor, the accelerometer, the magnetometer or the gyroscopefrom the concentrator; determine a health state of one or more of themembers of the animal population based on the received readout data fromat least one of the temperature sensor, the accelerometer, themagnetometer or the gyroscope; and report the determined health state toone or more user devices

An animal tag assembly for monitoring one or more characteristics in ananimal population is disclosed, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In one illustrative embodiment, the tag assemblyincludes an animal tag body. In another illustrative embodiment, the tagassembly includes a first temperature sensor disposed on the animal tagbody. In another illustrative embodiment, the tag assembly includes asecond temperature sensor disposed on the animal tag body. In anotherillustrative embodiment, the first temperature sensor and the secondtemperature sensor are configured to acquire a differential temperaturemeasurement of an internal ear cavity of a member of the animalpopulation. In another illustrative embodiment, the animal tag bodyincludes two or more connection pass-throughs for coupling the animaltag assembly to the member of the animal population.

An animal tag assembly for monitoring one or more characteristics in ananimal population is disclosed, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In one illustrative embodiment, the tag assemblyincludes an animal tag body. In another illustrative embodiment, the tagassembly includes one or more temperature sensors disposed on the animaltag body. In another illustrative embodiment, the animal tag body isconfigured for placement on the inner portion of an ear of a member ofthe animal population so as to acquire a temperature measurement of aninternal ear cavity of the member of the animal population. In anotherillustrative embodiment, the tag assembly includes a backing layerconfigured for placement on an outer surface of the ear of the member ofthe animal population. In another illustrative embodiment, the animaltag body and the backing layer include two or more connectionpass-throughs for coupling the animal tag assembly and the backing layerto the member of the animal population.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. Theaccompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the general description, serve to explain the principlesof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood bythose skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures inwhich:

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate a system for monitoring one or morecharacteristics of one or more members of an animal population, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1E illustrates a simplified schematic view of a tag assemblyequipped with two temperature probes, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 1F-1G illustrate the implementation of concentrator and a set oftag assemblies disposed on animals in a given animal population, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1H illustrates the implementation of multiple concentrators and aset of tag assemblies disposed on animals in a given animal population,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1I illustrates a conceptual view of the determination of locationof a given tag assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 1J illustrates a conceptual view of the determination of locationof a given tag assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 1K-1L illustrate a mobile concentrator, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1M illustrates a flow diagram depicting a communication protocolbetween a tag and a concentrator, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a series of schematic views of a tag assembly, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2D illustrates a schematic view of a tag assembly, in accordancewith one or more additional embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate schematic view of a tag assembly, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate schematic views of a tag assembly, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a crimper tool for attaching a tag assemblyto an animal, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6R illustrate multiple schematic views of a tag assembly, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6S-6Y illustrate schematic views of a stapling tool for attachinga tag assembly to an animal, in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A illustrates a schematic view of a passive tag, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B illustrates a schematic view of a retrofitted passive tag, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed,which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1A through 7B, a method and system fortracking physiological or behavioral parameters of animals in an animalpopulation are described in accordance with the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to one or moresystems and methods for tracking, analyzing and diagnosing the health ofan individual animal or an animal population. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure may acquire a variety of metrics from an animal (or fromanimals) to assist in early diagnosis and analysis of the health of ananimal population (e.g., cattle herd). For example, the presentdisclosure may be utilized to monitor and diagnose the health of ananimal herd (e.g., cattle, swine, and the like) in a commercial feedlotsetting. The on-animal devices of the present disclosure may communicatewirelessly with users (e.g., feedlot managers, pen riders and etc.) thelikelihood of illness of one or more members of the given animalpopulation, which provides for early treatment and reduced herd loss.The on-animal sensors and analysis routines of the present disclosurewill allow for monitoring of a variety of animal characteristics (e.g.,physiological and behavior), patterns, weather data and etc., alertingpen riders and feedlot managers of early signs of illness. The earlydetection of illness in an animal population may also assist inoptimizing weight gain rates, reducing the use of antibiotics, allowingfor biosecurity and proactive outbreak procedures, and reducing laborand manpower usage.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may include animal characteristicsmeasurement and/or tracking, such as, but not limited to, head tilttracking, activity tracking, nutrient uptake tracking (e.g., positionand/or proximity sensing). In addition, embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include physiological metric measurement and/or tracking,such as, but not limited to, temperature measurement and/or tracking.Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide for individual andherd trend analysis with predictive modeling. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure may allow producers to monitor animal and herd trends throughhistorical and predictive data, allowing for proactive measures toincrease production.

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate a system 100 for monitoring one or morecharacteristics of one or more members of an animal population, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100may monitor the health of one or more animals via the tracking ofphysiological and/or behavioral characteristics of one or more animalsin a given animal population.

In one embodiment, the system 100 includes one or more tag assemblies102. For example, the system 100 may include, but is not limited to, aset of animal tag assemblies 102 a-102 d disposed on members of at leasta portion of an animal population. For instance, the system 100 mayinclude, but is not limited to, tag 102 a for monitoring one or morecharacteristics of a first animal, tag 102 b for monitoring one or morecharacteristics of a second animal, tag 102 c for monitoring one or morecharacteristics of a third animal, and a tag 102 d for monitoring one ormore characteristics of an Nth animal.

In another embodiment, the system 100 includes a concentrator 104 (ornetwork of concentrators) that is communicatively couplable to the setof tag assemblies 102 a-102 d. For example, the concentrator 104 may be,but is not required to be, communicatively coupled (e.g., wirelesslycoupled using a selected communication protocol) to the one or more tagassemblies 102 such that the data acquired via the one or more tagassemblies 102 a-102 d is collected from the one or more tag assemblies102 a-102 d. It is noted herein that the terms “concentrator” is usedinterchangeably with “receiver” and/or “base station” throughout thepresent disclosure.

In another embodiment, the concentrator 104 is also communicativelycoupled to a controller 108 via a network 106. For example, thecontroller 108 may include, but is not limited to, one or more servers.For instance, the controller 108 may include, but is not limited to, aremote server coupled to the concentrator 104 via network 106.

In another embodiment, one or more user devices 110 are communicativelycoupled to the controller 108. In one embodiment, the one or more userdevices 110 are indirectly coupled to the controller 108 via the network106. It is noted herein that the system 100 may allow for any number ofuser devices to communicate with the controller 108. For example, thesystem 100 may provide for communication between a first user device 110a, a second user device 110 b, and up to an including an Nth user device110 c and controller 108 via network 106. It is further noted that theone or more user devices 110 a-110 c may include any user device knownin the art. For example, the one or more user devices 110 a-110 c mayinclude, but are not limited to, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a mobile phone (e.g., smartphone), or a wearable device (e.g.,smartwatch and the like). In another embodiment, the one or more userinterfaces 110 are directly coupled (not shown) to the controller 108.

In another embodiment, one or more user devices 110 are communicativelycoupled to the concentrator 104. In one embodiment, the one or more userdevices 110 are indirectly coupled to the concentrator 104 via thenetwork 106. In one embodiment, the one or more user devices 110 aredirectly coupled (not shown) to the concentrator 104.

The network 106 may include any wireless and/or wireline networkprotocol known in the art. For example, the network 106 may include, butis not limited to, an internet or an intranet (e.g., LAN, WLAN and thelike).

Referring now to FIG. 1B, in one embodiment, one or more of the tagassemblies 102 includes one or more sensors 114. The one or more sensors114 may include any sensor known in the art capable of measuring one ormore physiological and/or behavioral characteristics of an animal. Forexample, the one or more sensors 114 may include, but are not limitedto, a temperature probe (e.g., IR temperature sensor, thermocouple,thermistor and the like), a heart rate monitor (e.g., optical heartmonitor), an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, an inertialmeasurement unit, or a location sensor. It is noted herein that the oneor more sensors 114 may be configured to monitor a wide range ofphysiological and/or behavioral characteristics including, but notlimited to, the frequency and/or duration of chewing, a range of motion(e.g. range of head motion), body movements, posture, the amount ofactivity (e.g., number of steps or distance traveled in a selectedamount of time), the frequency and duration of trips to a feed and/orwater source. It is further noted herein that the absolute value as wellas the relative value of any measurement may be monitored. For example,a change in any one or more physiological and/or behavioralcharacteristics may indicate a change in health of the given animal. Byway of another example, a deviation in any one or more physiologicaland/or behavioral characteristics of a given animal from a group ofother animals of the animal population may indicate a deviation inhealth of the given animal from the rest of the animal population. Inthis regard, the one or more sensors 114 of the tag assemblies 102 maybe used to identify an outlier of the animal population.

In another embodiment, the tag assembly 102 includes a memory 117 and aprocessor 116. In this regard, any of the one or more physiologicaland/or behavioral characteristics measured by the one or more sensors114 may be permanently or temporarily stored in memory 117. In anotherembodiment, when the given tag assembly 102 is interrogated by theconcentrator 104, the processor 116 may direct the communicationcircuitry 120 and antenna 119 of the tag assembly 102 to transmit all ora portion of the stored one or more physiological and/or behavioralcharacteristics to the concentrator 104.

It is noted herein that the communication circuitry 120 may alternatelybe referred to as a “data radio”. The memory 117 may include any memorytype known in the art. For example, the memory 117 may include, but isnot limited to, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(EEPROM) device. The processor 124 may include, but is not limited to, amicrocontroller unit (MCU). It is noted herein that the communicationcircuitry 120 and the antenna 119 may be configured to operate in anyfrequency band known in the art. In one embodiment, the communicationcircuitry 120 and the antenna 119 are configured to operate in a RadioFrequency (RF) band. In one embodiment, the communication circuitry 120and the antenna 119 are configured to operate in a selected band (e.g.,band between 902 MHz and 928 MHz). It is noted herein that the antenna119 may be of any type known in the art, including, but not limited to,an embedded antenna or an external antenna.

In another embodiment, the tag assembly 102 includes one or more GPSchips 118 suitable for measuring the location of the given tag assembly102. In some embodiments, the GPS chip 118 is configured to generate atimestamp corresponding to a time of data acquisition. It is notedherein that the GPS chip 118 may be used to measure one or morecharacteristics of a given animal through the tracking of position ofthe given animal. It is recognized herein that relative position of thetag assembly 102 may be deduced in a variety of ways without the need ofa GPS chip, which will be discussed further herein.

In another embodiment, the tag assembly 102 includes a power supply forpowering any one of the various components of the tag assembly 102. Forexample, the tag assembly 102 includes one or more batteries 121, one ormore power generating devices (e.g., piezoelectric device, photovoltaiccell and the like) and/or a combination of one or more batteries andpower generating devices. It is noted herein that the tag assembly 102may utilize any battery technology known in the art.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the concentrator 104 is poweredby a power supply 126. It is noted herein that the power supply 126 mayinclude any power supply known in the art including, but not limited to,a battery or a transformer configured to convert AC power to DC power.In one embodiment, the concentrator 104 includes one or more processors116 and memory 125. The memory 125 may include, but is not limited to,EEPROM memory. The processor 124 may include, but is not limited to, aMCU.

In one embodiment, the one or more tag assemblies 102 arecommunicatively coupled to the concentrator 104 via a localcommunication link. For example, the one or more tag assemblies 102 maybe coupled to the concentrator 104 via a local wireless communicationlink. For instance, the concentrator 104 may include, but is not limitedto, communication circuitry 123 coupled to an antenna 122. Further, thecommunication circuitry 123 and the antenna 122 may be configured towirelessly communicate with the communication circuitry 120 and antenna119 of one or more tag assemblies 102. In one embodiment, thecommunication circuitry 120 may include a radio frequency (RF) modulesuitable for transmitting one or more signals to the communicationcircuitry 123 of the concentrator 104. The communication circuitry 120and 123 may be compatible with any wireless protocol known in the art,such as, but not limited to, BLUETOOTH, LOW ENERGY BLUETOOTH, WIFI, RFIDand the like. In this regard, any of the one or more physiologicaland/or behavioral characteristics measured by the one or more tagassemblies 102 may be transmitted from the one or more tag assemblies102, received by the concentrator 104 and then stored, permanently ortemporarily, in memory 125 of the concentrator 104.

In one embodiment, the concentrator 104 includes one or more GPS chips128 configured to determine the location of the concentrator 104. Insome embodiments, the GPS chip 128 is configured to generate a timestampcorresponding to a data acquisition time.

In one embodiment, the concentrator 104 includes network interfacecircuitry 129 communicatively coupled to the controller 108 (e.g.,server) via network 106. It is noted herein that network interfacecircuitry 129 may be configured to communicate with the controller 108using any network protocol known in the art including, but not limitedto, Ethernet, WiFi, or a cellular communication network. It is furthernoted that multiple network protocols may be utilized. In oneembodiment, network interface circuitry 129 is configured to communicatevia Ethernet. In another embodiment, network interface circuitry 129 isconfigured to communicate via WiFi. In another embodiment, networkinterface circuitry 129 is configured to communicate via a cellularcommunication network. In some embodiments, the concentrator 104includes multiple network interfaces 135.

It is noted herein that one or more of the data analysis routines of thepresent disclosure may be performed using the one or more processors 116(and program instructions) on-board the concentrator 104. In anotherembodiment, the one or more processors 116 may direct network interfacecircuitry 129 to transmit the one or more physiological and/orbehavioral characteristics to the controller 108 for data analysis.

In another embodiment, the controller 108 (or another controller) mayinclude one or more processors 130 and memory 132. In this regard, thecontroller 108 may receive the one or more physiological and/orbehavioral characteristics from the concentrator 104 (via signal fromnetwork 106) and apply one or more of the various analysis routines ofthe present disclosure. For example, the controller 108 may includenetwork interface circuitry 131 for interfacing with network 106. Inthis regard, memory 132 may maintain any set of program instructionsrequired to implement data analysis routines for determining a state ofhealth of one or more animals based on the received one or morephysiological and/or behavioral characteristics.

It is noted herein that the controller 108 may be configured to performone or more tasks associated with data collected by the one or more tagassemblies 102. For example, the controller 108 may be configured tostore data and/or to generate one or more statistics relevant to theinterpretation of the data. It is noted herein that one or more of thedata analysis routines of the present disclosure may be performed usingone or more processors 116 (and program instructions) on-board thecontroller 108 configured to perform data analysis. In one embodiment,the controller 108 is configured to store health monitoring datacollected by the one or more tag assemblies 102. In another embodiment,the controller 108 is configured to generate a relative risk level foreach of the animals in the animal population according to one or morestatistical metrics calculated using data collected by the one or moretag assemblies 102. In some embodiments, the controller 108 includesmultiple redundant devices. For example, the controller 108 may includea third party server.

In another embodiment, the controller 108 may serve one or more resultsof the health state determination to the one or more user devices 112 a,112 b via network 106. For example, the controller 108, upon identifyingan animal displaying characteristics indicative of an illness (orinjury), may transmit an indication to the one or more user devices 112a, 112 b. In addition, one or more users, via the one or more userdevices 112 a, 112 b, may request the particular type(s) ofphysiological and/or behavioral characteristics that the controller 108should use for determining a health state in one or more animals of thepopulation, as described further herein.

It is further noted herein that the one or more user devices 112 a, 112b may be configured to display one or more statistical metrics (e.g., aninformation set) calculated using data collected by the one or more tagassemblies 102 and/or raw data collected by the one or more tagassemblies 102. The one or more statistical metrics may be calculatedusing one or more processors 130 on-board the controller 108 or usingone or more processors 116 on-board the concentrator 104. In someembodiments, the one or more user devices 112 a, 112 b are configured todisplay the same information (e.g. to provide access to data frommultiple locations).

The one or more processors 116, 124, 130 of tag assembly 102,concentrator 104 and controller 108 may include any one or moreprocessing elements known in the art. In this sense, the one or moreprocessors 116, 124, 130 may include any microprocessor-type deviceconfigured to execute software algorithms and/or instructions. In oneembodiment, the one or more processors 116, 124, 130 may consist of aMCU configured to execute a program configured to operate the componentsof system 100, as described throughout the present disclosure. Ingeneral, the term “processor” may be broadly defined to encompass anydevice having one or more processing or logic elements, which executeprogram instructions from a non-transitory memory medium (e.g., memory117, 125, 132). Moreover, different subsystems of the system 100 mayinclude processor or logic elements suitable for carrying out at least aportion of the steps described throughout the present disclosure.Therefore, the above description should not be interpreted as alimitation on the present invention but merely an illustration.

The memory 117, 125 and 132 of tag assembly 102, concentrator 104 andcontroller 108 may include any storage medium known in the art suitablefor storing program instructions executable by the associated one ormore processors. For example, the memory 117, 125 and 132 may include anon-transitory memory medium. For instance, the memory 117, 125 and 132may include, but is not limited to, a read-only memory, a random accessmemory, a magnetic or optical memory device (e.g., disk), a magnetictape, a solid state drive, EEPROM and the like. In another embodiment,the memory 117, 125 and 132 are configured to store one or more resultsfrom the one or more tag assemblies 102 and/or the output of the varioussteps described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 1C, in one embodiment, a tag assembly 102 includesmultiple sensors 114. For example, the tag assembly 102 may include, butis not limited to, a first sensor 114 a, a second sensor 114 b and up toand including an Nth sensor 114 c. In this regard, sensors 114 a-114 cmay include any two or more sensors known in the art capable ofmeasuring one or more physiological and/or behavioral characteristics ofan animal. For example, the two or more sensors 114 s 1-114 c mayinclude, but are not limited to, two or more of the following: atemperature probe, a heart rate monitor, an accelerometer, amagnetometer, a gyroscope, an inertial measurement unit, a locationsensor or the like.

In one embodiment, the one or more sensors 114 of the tag assembly 102may measure one or more physiological characteristics. For example, oneor more sensors 114 may include a thermal probe (e.g., thermocouple) formeasuring the temperature of an animal with which the given tag assembly102 is disposed. In this regard, temperature data of given animal may bemeasured and tracked as a function of time. By way of another example,one or more sensors 114 may include a heart monitor for measuring theheart rate of an animal with which the given tag assembly 102 isdisposed. In this regard, heart rate data of given animal may bemeasured and tracked as a function of time.

In another embodiment, the system 100 may measure one or more behavioralcharacteristics. In one embodiment, the one or more behavioralcharacteristics measured by the one or more sensors 114 of the tagassemblies 102 may include, but are not limited, one or more animalposture characteristics. In one embodiment, an animal posturecharacteristic may include, but is not limited to, head tilt, body lean,gait or the like. For example, head tilt may be determined for a givenanimal by measuring the relative position (e.g., height of head relativeto an initial head position) associated with a given tag assembly 102 inorder to deduce the height of the animal's head, and, thus, the tilt ofthe animals head and/or neck. The head tilt measurement may consist of arelative head tilt measurement. For example, the relative head tiltmeasurement may include comparing a measured head tilt value to one ormore head tilt values (or statistically aggregated head title values(e.g., average)) of a portion of the animal population. By way ofanother example, the relative head tilt measurement may includecomparing a measured head tilt value to initial head tilt value (or atime-averaged value) of the same animal. By way of another example, theone or more sensors 114 of a given tag assembly 102 may include anaccelerometer, magnetometer and/or gyroscope (or a consolidated IMU)suitable for measuring the head tilt of a given animal.

In another embodiment, the one or more behavioral characteristicsmeasured by the one or more sensors 114 of the tag assemblies 102 mayinclude, but are not limited, one or more position (or movement)characteristics of one or more animals. In one embodiment, the one ormore position (or movement) characteristics may include, but are notlimited to, the number of steps taken by the animal over a selected timeperiod. For example, at least one of the sensors 114 on-board the tagassembly 102 associated with a given animal may include anaccelerometer, such as a three-axis accelerometer, configured to measuremotion data associated with the given animal. By way of another example,the sensors 114 may be configured as a motion sensor (e.g., nine-axismotion sensor) equipped with an accelerometer, gyroscope and/ormagnetometer (or consolidated IMU).

In another embodiment, once the motion data is collected by the one ormore tag assemblies 102, the processor and programming instructions ofthe concentrator 104 or the controller 108 may convert this motion datato “animal steps” based on a pre-programmed algorithm, which relatesmotion data to steps. In another embodiment, the motion data captured bythe one or more sensors 114 may be converted to the distance traveled byan animal over a selected time period or average speed of the animalover a selected time period. In another embodiment, as noted previouslyherein, one or more sensors 114 of the tag assembly 102 of a givenanimal may include a GPS chip 118. In this regard, a GSP-enabled tagassembly 102 may be used to directly measure the location and movementof a given animal of an animal heard.

In another embodiment, once the one or more tag assemblies 102 of thesystem 100 collect physiological data and/or behavioral data associatedwith the respective animals, the one or more tag assemblies 102 maytransmit all or some of this data to the concentrators 104. In turn, theconcentrator 104 may transmit all or some of the received physiologicaldata and/or behavior data to controller 108 (or another controller) foranalysis, as described throughout the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 1D, in one embodiment, the tag assembly 102includes one or more temperature sensors, such as, but not limited to, afirst temperature sensor 114 a and a second temperature sensor 114 b. Inanother embodiment, the tag assembly 102 includes an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU) 122 c for monitoring orientation, direction, tiltand/or movement of the tag assembly 102. For example, the IMU 122 c mayinclude, but is not limited to, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and agyroscope.

It is noted herein that a temperature sensor, such as the firsttemperature sensor 114 a and/or the second temperature sensor 114 a, mayinclude any temperature sensor known in the art. For example, the firsttemperature sensor 114 a and/or the second temperature sensor 114 b mayinclude, but are not limited to, a thermopile detector, an infraredsensor, or a resistive temperature device. It is further noted that afirst temperature sensor 114 a and/or a second temperature sensor 114 bmay detect multiple temperatures simultaneously, such as, but notlimited to, the temperature of a proximate object (e.g. a portion of anear) and the ambient temperature. In one embodiment, two temperaturesensors 114 a and 114 b may measure a differential temperature between aproximate object (e.g., ear canal) and the ambient environment. Inanother embodiment, multiple temperature sensors are configured tomeasure multiple differential temperatures between multiple locations ofan animal and the ambient environment.

In another embodiment, each of two temperature sensors 114 a and 114 bmay simultaneously measure two temperatures such that the tag assembly102, as a whole, simultaneously measures four temperatures. FIG. 1Eillustrates a simplified schematic view of tag assembly 102 equippedwith two temperature probes 114 a, 114 b and disposed within the ear ofan animal. In one embodiment, a tag 102 is positioned in the ear 142 ofan animal (e.g. a cow) such that first temperature sensor 114 asimultaneously measures a first temperature and a second temperature,while a second temperature sensor 114 b simultaneously measures a thirdtemperature and a fourth temperature. In one embodiment, the firsttemperature includes a temperature of a portion of the inner ear 1444,which may be referred to as an inner ear temperature (IET). The secondtemperature includes an ambient temperature of the ear canal, which maybe referred to as an Ambient Temperature Near Canal (ANC). The thirdtemperature includes a temperature of a portion of the ear surface 146,which may be referred to as an Ear Surface Temperature (EST). The fourthtemperature includes an ambient temperature near a printed circuit board(PCB) associated with the tag 102. The fourth temperature may bereferred to as an Ambient Temperature near PCB Surface (APCB). It isnoted herein that ambient temperatures (e.g. the second and fourthtemperatures) may be used to calibrate the IET and EST temperaturemeasurements. It is further noted that at extreme temperatures, such ashigh or low temperatures, the IET and EST temperatures may have offsetsthat may introduce errors when analyzed using a data analysis algorithm.By way of example, an offset associated with the IET and/or the EST maycause a data analysis algorithm to issue a false warning. By way ofanother example, an offset associated with the IET and/or the EST maycause a data analysis algorithm to not issue a warning when a warning isappropriate. It is noted herein that ambient temperature measurements(e.g. the ANC and/or the APCB) may be used to adjust the IET and/or ESTtemperatures to generate an adjusted temperature, which serves tocompensate for environmental circumstances and aids in reducing oreliminating the frequency of false positives or missed temperaturedeviations. By way of example, an adjusted temperature may be calculatedusing the equation:

Adjusted Temp=A×IET+B×EST+C×(ANC+APCB)

where A, B, and C are weighting constants. In some embodiments, thevalue of weighting constant A is greater than the value of weightingconstant B. In other embodiments, the values of one or more of theweighting constants A, B, or C may be acquired from a calibration table.For example, the IET may provide the basis function for the temperatureestimate and may be weighted highest in the above equation. Further, theEST component may be weighted slightly below the IET. In addition, bothANC and APCB may be used to calibrate the IET and EST measurements.

In one embodiment, a tag assembly 102 includes an indicator (not shown).It is noted herein that the indicator may be configured to generateaudio or visual signals. By way example, an indicator may include anaudio generation device (e.g. a buzzer) to facilitate the location of atag assembly 102. By way of another example, an indicator may includeone or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to visually displaythe status of an animal via the state of the LED (e.g. on, off, orflashing).

FIGS. 1F-1G illustrate the implementation of concentrator 104 and a setof tag assemblies 102 disposed on animals 152, 154 and 156 in a givenanimal population 150, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In one embodiment, the system 100 may monitor a positioncharacteristic between a nutrient source 158 and one or more animals152, 154, 156 (and so on). The nutrient source 158 may include anynutrient source known in the art, such as, but not limited to, a feedsource (e.g., grain), a water source, a mineral source (e.g., salt lick)and the like.

In one embodiment, one or more concentrators 104 may be placed proximateto the nutrient source 158. The system 100 may monitor one or moreposition characteristics (e.g., distance, position, direction, and thelike) between the tag assemblies 102 attached to one or more animals152-156 and the concentrator 104 (or concentrators). In this regard, thesystem 100 may measure and/or track a position characteristic betweenone or more animals 152-156 and the nutrient source 158 based on theknown spatial relationship between the given concentrator 104 (orconcentrators) and the nutrient source 158. In one embodiment, thesystem 100 may measure and/or track the position characteristic betweenthe tag assembly 102 and the concentrator 104 using an RF signal,transmitted from the communication circuitry 120 of a given tag assembly102 and the communication circuitry 123 of the concentrator 104. Forexample, one or more program instructions may be used to determine agiven position characteristic, such as distance, proximity (e.g.,proximity to nutrient source 158), position (e.g., position in feedlot), signal direction and the like, between the communication circuitry120 of a given tag assembly 102 and the communication circuitry 123 ofthe concentrator 104 based on one or more characteristics of a signal(e.g., signal 154 a, 154 b or 154 c) as measured by the concentrator104.

In one embodiment, a distance of one or more animals 152-156 from thenutrient source 158 may be deduced by measuring signal strength of theRF signal (e.g., signal 154 a, 154 b, or 154 c) emanating from one ormore tag assemblies 102. For example, as shown in FIG. 1C, a distance d₁of a first animal 152 from the nutrient source 158 may be deduced bymeasuring a signal strength of the RF signal 154 a emanating from thetag assembly 102 associated with the first animal 152. Further, adistance d₂ of a second animal 154 from the nutrient source 158 may bededuced by measuring signal strength of the RF signal 154 b emanatingfrom the tag assembly 102 associated with the second animal 154. Inaddition, a distance d₃ of a third animal 156 from the nutrient source158 may be deduced by measuring signal strength of the RF signal 154 cemanating from the tag assembly 102 associated with the third animal156. In this manner, the distance away from the nutrient source 158 maybe deduced for N number of animals in the given animal population 150.

Further, the frequency with which the one or more animals 152-156utilize the nutrient source 158 may be determined through monitoring thedistance of the one or more animals 152-156 from the nutrient source 158as a function of time. In addition, the use of multiple concentrators104, each positioned at different nutrient sources 158, may allow thesystem 100 to monitor feeding frequency, watering frequency and the likefor the one or more animals 152-156.

FIG. 1H illustrates the implementation of multiple concentrators 104a-104 d and a set of tag assemblies 102 disposed on animals 152, 154,156 in a given animal population 150, in accordance with one embodimentof the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the concentrators 104a-104 e may be positioned about a given feeding area or a region wherethe animals reside (e.g., feedlot). For example, multiple concentrators104 a-104 e, each equipped with an antenna (e.g., omnidirectional ordirectional antenna), may be distributed about a given feedlot (in thecase of cattle). In this regard, signal strength associated with aparticular tag assembly 102 may be measured by multiple concentrators(e.g., concentrators 104 a, 104 b, 104 c, 104 d and/or 104 e), each atdifferent known locations. It is noted that the relative positionsbetween the concentrator is known and can be easily measured. Such aconfiguration allows for a determination (or estimation) of position ofa particular tag assembly 102 through a position algorithm, whichestimates position based on the signal strength of the particular tagassembly at two or more of the concentrators 104 a-104 e and the knownpositions of the concentrators 104 a-104 e. For example, a radiotriangulation procedure may be used to estimate the position of a tagassembly based on the interaction of the tag assembly 102 with three ormore concentrators 104 a-104 e. FIG. 11 illustrates a conceptual view160 of the determination of location of a given tag assembly 102 basedon such a radio triangulation procedure.

In another embodiment, one or more concentrators 104 may be equippedwith a directional antenna. In this regard, the distance and directionof one or more animals 152-156 may be determined. Such a configurationmay allow for a single concentrator 104 to monitor nutrient uptakefrequency at multiple nutrient sources 158. For example, the use of adirectional antenna may allow a single concentrator 104 to monitorfeeding frequency, watering frequency and the like for the one or moreanimals 152-156. In another embodiment, multiple concentrators 104 maybe equipped with a directional antenna. Based on the direction of signaldetection of a given tag assembly 102 by two or more concentrators, thesystem 100 may determine an approximate position of the tag assembly 102(e.g., location at which the directional vectors intersect). FIG. 1Jillustrates a conceptual view 170 of the determination of location of agiven tag assembly 102 using two or more concentrators 104 a, 104 bequipped with a direction antenna. As shown in FIG. 1J, the approximateposition of the particular tag assembly corresponds to the positionwhere the direction vector between the first concentrator 104 a and thetag assembly 102 intersects with the direction vector between the secondconcentrator 104 b and the tag assembly 102.

It is further noted herein that the system 100 may include multipleconcentrators 104, where each concentrator is coupled to a different setof tag assemblies 102. In one embodiment, a first concentrator 104 iscoupled to a first set of tag assemblies 102. In another embodiment, asecond concentrator 104 is coupled to a second set of tag assemblies102. It is further noted herein that a concentrator 104 may be coupledto one or more tag assemblies 102 according to any network topologyknown in the art including, but not limited to, star and meshtopologies. In one embodiment, a concentrator 104 is configured as a hubof a star network topology, with one or more tag assemblies 104communicatively coupled to the concentrator 104 via point-to-pointconnections. In another embodiment, one or more repeaters (not shown)are placed between a concentrator 104 and one or more tag assemblies 102in order to increase the allowable range of the one or more tagassemblies 102.

In one embodiment, utilizing the signal information associated with agiven tag assembly 102, a nutrient uptake frequency may be determined.In turn, the nutrient uptake frequency may be recorded in memory 125 ofthe concentrator 104 and/or transmitted to the controller 108 for futureuse.

In another embodiment, in the context of the signal strength basedtechniques described above, the distance traveled and/or the averagespeed of a given animal may be measured by tracking the position data ofa given tag assembly 102 as function of time.

In another embodiment, as previously noted, the concentrator 104 maytransmit all or some of the received physiological and/or behavioraldata to controller 108 (or another controller). For example, theconcentrator 104 may transmit all or some of the received physiologicaland/or behavioral data to controller 108 (or another controller) vianetwork 106. In one embodiment, once received by the controller 108, theprogram instructions of the controller 108 may determine a health stateof the one or more animals based on the physiological data (e.g.,temperature, heart rate and etc.) and/or behavioral data (e.g., headtilt, feeding frequency, amount of movement (e.g., steps) and etc.). Forexample, upon collecting one or more physiological and/or behavioralcharacteristics, the one or more concentrators 104 may transmit (e.g.,wirelessly or wireline) the collected information to controller 108 (oranother controller) via a network (e.g., internet, intranet and thelike). In another embodiment, the one or more processors 130 of thecontroller 108, via a set of program instructions (e.g., maintained inmemory 132), may carry out a number of data processing steps on the datato determine a health state of one or more animals of the animalpopulation.

In one embodiment, the measured animal characteristics are compared to aknown standard set of characteristics. For example, a database (notshown) may be maintained in memory 132 of the controller 108 (or anyother memory accessible by the controller 108) and structured to relateone or more animal characteristics to a particular health state. Forinstance, any one or more of the physiological characteristics and/orbehavioral characteristics may be correlated to known health states ofstudied animals. After a series of trial-and-error measurements areperformed, the database may be constructed and stored in memory 132. Inone embodiment, the database may correlate a single characteristic to aparticular health state. For example, the controller 108 may utilize thestored database to correlate head tilt to the health state of an animal.For instance, a head tilt above a certain angle may be associated with a“healthy” animal, while head tilt below a certain angle may beassociated with an “unhealthy” animal. Further, the average time thehead tilt is above/below a particular threshold may be used to determinethe health state of the animal. It is recognized that any of themeasured characteristics described previously herein may be utilized ina single variable context to determine the health state of an animal. Inthis regard, the controller 108 may identify an unhealthy animal, or apotentially unhealthy animal. In the event of an unhealthy, or apotentially unhealthy, the animal is identified and the controller 108may notify a user via user devices 112 a or 112 b that the animal isunhealthy or potentially unhealthy.

In another embodiment, the database may correlate multiplecharacteristics to a particular health state. For example, thecontroller 108 may utilize the stored database to correlate multiplephysiological and/or behavior characteristics to a particular healthstate of an animal. In this regard, the database may reflect amulti-variable relationship between the health state of an animal andtwo or more physiological and/or behavior characteristics. For example,the multi-variable database may be constructed to relate the healthstate of one or more animals to two or more of temperature, heart rate,head tilt, feeding frequency, amount of movement (e.g., steps) and etc.For instance, a first head tilt value, a first temperature value and afirst feeding frequency value may be associated with a “healthy” animal,while a second head tilt value, a second temperature value and a secondfeeding frequency value may be associated with an “unhealthy” animal. Itis recognized that any of the measured characteristics describedpreviously herein may be utilized in a multi-variable context todetermine the health state of an animal. Again, in the event anunhealthy, or a potentially unhealthy, animal is identified, thecontroller 108 may notify a user via user devices 112 a or 112 b thatthe animal is unhealthy or potentially unhealthy.

In another embodiment, an unhealthy animal is identified via adifferential comparison of measured characteristics for a first animalto measured characteristics associated with one or more other members ofthe animal population. For example, one or more measured physiologicaland/or behavior characteristics for a first animal may be compared toone or more measured physiological and/or behavior characteristics forat least a second animal or an average of two or more animals. In thisregard, outlier characteristics displayed by a given animal may beidentified by directly comparing the measured characteristics of thegiven animal to the same type of measured characteristics for othermembers of the same population. This approach is particularlyadvantageous as it may serve to eliminate systematic errors andconditions, such as, but not limited to, weather, feeding conditions,watering conditions, events that may disrupt herd feeding patterns andthe like. It is recognized herein that the animals may be statisticallybinned into like sub-sets for the purposes of comparison. For instance,animals may be limited to comparison with animals of the same or similarage or weight. In another instance, animals may be limited to comparisonwith animals of the same sex. In another instance, animals may belimited to comparison with animals located in the same spatial region ofthe general animal holding area at a particular time of the day (inorder to eliminate systematic affects such as sunlight and etc.).

It is further recognized that the behavior may be averaged over aselected time period prior to comparison. In the event any one or moreof the measured characteristics deviates (by a selected threshold) fromthat of the other animal(s), the controller 108 may notify a user thatthe deviant animal is unhealthy or potentially unhealthy.

In another embodiment, an unhealthy animal is identified by monitoringthe one or more measured characteristics of the animal as a function oftime and/or location. For example, one or more measured physiologicaland/or behavior characteristics for an animal may be monitored as afunction of time. In this regard, physiological and/or behaviorcharacteristics measured at a first time instance (or across a firsttime interval) may compared to one or more measured physiological and/orbehavior characteristics at a second time instance (or across a secondtime interval) (and a third time instance, a fourth time instance and soon). In this regard, the controller 108 may identify an unhealthyanimal, or a potentially unhealthy animal, by observing deviations inthe animal's behavior as a function of time. In the event any one ormore of the measured characteristics exceeds a selected threshold, thecontroller 108 may notify a user that the animal is unhealthy orpotentially unhealthy. This approach is particularly healthy in caseswhere a given animal, while in a healthy state, displays physiologicaland/or behavioral characteristics that deviates from other members ofthe herd.

It is further noted that the controller 108 may identify an unhealthyanimal using any combination of the analysis approaches set forth above.For example, an unhealthy animal may be identified throughimplementation of any of the following: a preloaded database, comparisonto other members of the population and/or monitoring a single animal asa function of time or location.

In one embodiment, the controller 108 (or controllers) may receiveinstructions from a user device (e.g., user device 112 a or user device112 b). In this regard, a user may select what comparisons he/she wantsthe controller 108 to perform. Then, the controller may transmit thoseresults to the user. In another embodiment, the system 100 may include amobile device separate from a first user device. In this regard, theresults, or a sub-set of the results, may be delivered to another userremotely. For example, simplified data outputs may be transmitted to theadditional user (e.g., smartphone or tablet user).

FIGS. 1K and 1L illustrate a mobile concentrator 104, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, asshown in FIG. 1K, the concentrator 104 is user-carried. For example, auser 164 may carry the concentrator 104 and selectively interrogate thetag assemblies 102 of the various animals of an animal population 150.This embodiment may be particularly useful in the context wherephysiological and/or behavioral characteristic data are stored on boardthe tag assembly 102. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1L, theconcentrator is drone-mounted. For example, the concentrator 104 may bemounted to a drone 165. In this regard, the drone 165 may selectivelyinterrogate the tag assemblies 102 of the various animals of the animalpopulation. Such a configuration would allow for a single concentratorto service multiple feed lot pens.

It is further noted that the present disclosure is not limited to theabove examples and is not limited to tracking physiological and/orbehavioral characteristics of cattle. It is noted that the presentdisclosure may be extended to a wide variety of environments, such as,but not limited to tracking and predicting health states in pigs,horses, sheep, pets (e.g., dogs, cats and etc.), zoo animals and etc.Further, the present disclosure may further be used to track and/orpredict health states in humans, such as children in a daycare, athleteson a sports team or patients in a hospital facility.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A-1D, it is noted that communication between aconcentrator 104 and one or more tags 102 may include half-duplex and/orfull-duplex communication systems. In one embodiment, a communicationsystem between a tag 102 and a concentrator 104 includes a half-duplexcommunication system. In another embodiment, a communication systembetween a tag 102 and a concentrator 104 includes a Medium AccessControl (MAC) layer. In another embodiment, the MAC is time slotted. Inone embodiment, the communication data rate between a concentrator 104and one or more tags 102 is between 1,000 and 100,0000 bits/sec. Forexample, the communication date rate may be, but it not limited to,57,600 bits/sec, which provides a data period of approximately 6.6milliseconds. It is noted herein that the data rate of 57,600 bits/secis not intended as limiting and other data rates may be used within thescope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the MAC includes a global data period of a selectedlength that defines the frequency of data collection. For example, theglobal data period may have a length of 3 seconds. It is noted hereinthat this data period is not limiting and that longer or shorter dataperiods may be used within the scope of the present disclosure. It isfurther noted that data need not be collected by a concentrator 104during each data period; this configuration may be useful, for example,in order to manage power consumption and extend battery life. In oneembodiment, the global data period is divided into a selected numberslots. For example, the global data period may be divided into 120 timeslots. In another embodiment, the width of each time slot within a datapacket is a selected time period. For example, the time period may be 25milliseconds. In another embodiment, the 120 time slots are furtherdivided into 1 beacon time slot, 9 provisioning time slots, and 110 datacollection time slots. In this way, data from 110 tags 102 may becollected from a single concentrator 104. It is noted herein that thespecific values of the width of the time slots and the number of timeslots within a global data period is not limiting. It is further notedthat choosing a time slot width larger than the data rate period (e.g. a25 millisecond time slot width in relation to a data period of 6.6milliseconds) enables time guard banding. In this regard, the localclocks of a concentrator 104 and one or more tags 102 may run fast orslow relative to each other with minimal synchronization error.

In another embodiment, a data packet transmitted during a global dataperiod comprises 48 bytes and consists of the following components: apreamble of 8 bytes, a sync word of 4 bytes, a payload size of 1 byte, apayload of up to 33 bytes, and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of 2bytes. It is noted herein that the contents and structure of the datapacket are not limiting and other data packets with different contentsand/or structure may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.

It is noted herein that the purpose of a beacon signal is to provide amechanism for synchronizing the concentrator 104 with one or more tags102 such that each tag 102 may properly transmit data in a designatedtime slot. In one embodiment, the one or more processors 116 of a tag(e.g. 102 a) direct the data radio (e.g. the communication circuitry120) to turn on only when a beacon signal is expected in order toconserve power. If a beacon is received, the timing circuitry (notshown) of the tag 102 is synchronized to the beacon signal such that thetiming of the remaining time slots are synchronized between thecollector 104 and the tag 102.

FIG. 1M illustrates a flow diagram depicting a communication protocolbetween a tag 102 and a concentrator 104, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the logical flow the tag 102 and the logical flow ofthe concentrator 104 are independent, which is to say that each elementcontains separate timing circuitry (not shown).

In one embodiment, a tag 102 collects data 171 from one or more sensors114. In one embodiment, the one or more processors 116 of a tag (e.g.102 a) direct the data radio (e.g. the communication circuitry 126) toturn on 172 only when a beacon signal is expected to be transmitted fromthe concentrator 104 in order to conserve power. The tag 102 will thensearch 173 for a beacon signal. If a beacon signal is not found 175, thetag 102 will continue to search 180 for a beacon signal for up to 8global data periods (or any other selected number of global dataperiods). If no beacon signal is found 175 within 8 global data periods180, the tag 102 enters a search mode 181. In the search mode, the oneor more processors 116 direct the data radio to toggle on and off every4 seconds (or any other selected time period) such that the tag 102searches for a beacon signal when the data radio is on. It is notedherein that one purpose of the search mode is to conserve power whilesearching for a beacon signal. It is further noted herein that thespecific values of 8 global data periods required to enter the searchmode and a toggle time of 4 seconds are not intended to be limiting andare provided merely for illustrative purposes.

In another embodiment, if a beacon signal is received 175 by a tag 102,the local clock will be synchronized 176 to the beacon signal. In oneembodiment, if a tag 102 does not have a beacon signal then aprovisioning packet is transmitted 182 to the concentrator 104 in one ofthe provisioning timeslots. It is noted herein that the specificprovisioning time slot may be chosen either at random or may be fixedfor a given tag 102. If the concentrator 104 receives a provisioningpacket 189 in one of the provisioning time slots, the concentrator 104transmits a data timeslot to the tag 102. If the tag 102 properlyreceives the transmitted data timeslot, the tag 102 transmits anacknowledgement signal 184. If the acknowledgement signal is properlyreceived 191 by the concentrator 104, a final confirmation signal istransmitted 192 to the tag 102 in order to confirm 185 the timeslot forthe tag 102. The concentrator 104 then associates 19 the allotted timeslot with the tag 102. It is noted herein that the association of atimeslot with a tag 102 may be accomplished using any method known inthe art including, but not limited to, storage of the serial number ofthe tag 102 or the use of another identification number. If any of thesteps associated with the assignment of a timeslot to a tag 102 fails(e.g., steps 182, 189, 190, 183, 184, 191, 192, or 185), the tag 102does not have an assigned timeslot 232 and the tag will transmit aprovisioning packet 182 on the next global data period. It is notedherein that the steps associated with the assignment of a timeslot to atag 102 (e.g., steps 182, 189, 190, 183, 184, 191, 192, or 185) are notintended to be limiting. By way of non-limiting example, any of steps182, 189, 190, 183, 184, 191, 192, or 185 may be omitted. Alternatively,by way of non-limiting example, additional communication signals (notshown) may be utilized to ensure proper assignment of a timeslot to atag 102.

In another embodiment, if a tag 102 has an assigned timeslot 177, thetag 102 transmits health data 178 to the concentrator 104 during theappropriate timeslot. The one or more processors 116 of the tag 102 thendirect the data radio to turn off 179 for the remainder of the globaldata period. During this time, the concentrator 104 receives data fromall timeslots 194. At the start of the next data period, theconcentrator repeats the process, beginning with the transmission of abeacon signal 188. It is noted herein that the tag may monitor healthdata using the one or more sensors 114 continuously throughout thecommunication cycle.

It is noted herein that if a concentrator 104 loses a listing ofassigned time slots associated with one or more tags 102 (e.g., uponreboot), the one or more tags 102 may continue to send data during apreviously assigned time slot. The concentrator 104 will then rebuild alisting of assigned time slots associated with the one or more tags 102according to order of received data in the data time slots. It isfurther noted that this procedure may be carried out in order to preventall of the one or more tags 102 from simultaneously transmittingprovisioning packets 182, which may lead to assignment errors.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate a series of schematic views of tag assembly 102,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.Referring now to FIG. 2A, the tag assembly 102 may include a tag body202. It is recognized herein that the tag body 202 may take on thegeneral shape of passive ear tags known in the art. However, the tagbody 202 of the present disclosure may be further functionalized withthe components of the tag assembly 102, described previously herein. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2A, the components of the tag assembly 102 maybe disposed on one or more surfaces of the tag body 202 or encasedwithin the outer surfaces of the tag body. In one embodiment, one ormore sensors 114 are disposed on a first surface (e.g., front surface inFIG. 2A) of the tag body 202. The one or more sensors 114 may includeany of the sensors described throughout the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the one or more sensors 114 may include one or moretemperature probes 206 (e.g., thermopile, IR sensor, RTD and the like).The one or more temperature probe 206 may be positioned on the tag body202 such that it resides in close proximity with a portion of the taggedanimal so that temperature measurements are satisfactorily accurate.

In another embodiment, the one or more sensors 114 may include one ormore accelerometers 208 (e.g., three-axis accelerometer). In anotherembodiment, the one or more sensors 114 may include one or moremagnetometers 210. In another embodiment, the one or more sensors 114may include a IMU.

In another embodiment, the communication circuitry 120 of the tagassembly 102 may be disposed on a first surface (e.g., front surface inFIG. 2A) of the tag body 202. The communication circuitry 120 mayinclude any communication circuitry known in the art of mobilecommunication. For example, the communication circuitry 120 may include,but is not limited to, a RF module (e.g., LEBT module). In anotherembodiment, the one or more batteries 121 of the tag assembly 102 may bedisposed on the first surface (e.g., front surface in FIG. 2A) of thetag body 202.

It is further noted that the arrangement of the sensors 114,communication circuitry 120 and battery 121 is provided merely forillustrative purposes. It is recognized that the components may bearranged in any number of configurations. For example, a portion of thecomponents may be disposed on a first surface of the tag body, while asecond portion of the components may be disposed on a second surface ofthe tag body 202.

In another embodiment, the tag body 202 of the tag assembly 102 may besecured to a portion of the animal (e.g., ear of the animal) using thetag connector 204. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, one ormore sensors 114, communication circuitry and/or the battery 121 may bedisposed on an independent sensor unit 212. In one embodiment, thesensor unit 212 may be coupled to the backside portion of the tagconnector 204.

In another embodiment, the tag assembly 102 need not include the tagbody 202. For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the tag assembly 102includes a sensor unit 212, which may be coupled directly to a portionof the animal (e.g., ear) using the connector 204. Again, one or moresensors 114, communication circuitry and/or the battery 121 may bedisposed on an independent sensor unit 212. Such a configuration may beparticularly advantageous when close contact between one or more of thesensors (e.g., temperature probe) and an ear portion of the animal isdesired. As shown in FIG. 2C, direction contact can be made between thesensor 114 (e.g., temperature probe) of the sensor unit 212 and aportion of the ear of the animal.

FIG. 2D illustrates a schematic view of tag assembly 102, in accordancewith one or more additional embodiments of the present disclosure. Inthis embodiment, the tag assembly 102 includes an elongated tag body 202that when attached to an ear of an animal with the tag connector 204 mayhang from the ear of the animal. For example, the ear of the animal (notshown in FIG. 2D) may be situated between the tag body 202 an the baseof the ear connector 204 once the tag connector 204 is pushed throughthe ear of the animal and coupled to the receiving hole of the tag body202.

In this embodiment, one or more sensors 114 are disposed on one or moresurfaces of the tag body or within (all or a portion) of the volume ofthe tag body. For instance, the various sensors 114 may be molded withina plastic tag body. In another embodiment, a portion of the one or moresensors may be exposed in order to enhance measurements of one or moreparameters.

The one or more sensors 114, as discussed previously herein, may includeany sensor technology known in the art for measuring physiologicaland/or behavioral parameters. For example, the one or more sensors 114may include, but are not limited to, a temperature sensor (e.g., IRtemperature sensor, thermocouple, thermistor and the like), a heart ratemonitor (e.g., optical heart monitor), an accelerometer, a magnetometer,a gyroscope, an inertial measurement unit, a location sensor, a chemicalsensor and the like. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2D, the one ormore sensors 114 include a temperature sensor 206, an accelerometer 208,and a gyroscope 209. It is noted that the tag assembly of FIG. 2D is notlimited to this set of sensors, which are depicted merely forillustrative purposes. Any of the various sensor technologies describedthroughout the present disclosure may be implemented in the context ofthe tag 102 of FIG. 2D.

In the case of the temperature sensor 206, the temperature sensor 206may be integrated into the tag body 202 of the tag 102 such that it isexposed at the surface of the tag facing the connect 204. Such aconfiguration provides for adequate contact to the animal's ear (in thecase a thermistor or thermocouple bases temperature sensor) and/or lineof sight (in the case of an IR-based temperature sensor).

In another embodiment, the tag 102 may be equipped with one or moreprocessors 116 and memory 117. In another embodiment, the tag 102 may beequipped with communication circuitry 120 (e.g., antenna) forcommunicating with the concentrator 104.

In one embodiment, the one or more sensors 114 sensors may collect dataassociated with the animal's movements, activity, and/or temperature.Data may be stored in memory 117. In another embodiment, the data may beprocessed or pre-process on the tag 102 via the one or more processors116. In another embodiment, the raw data or processed/pre-process datais transmitted to from the tag 102 to the concentrator 104 via thecommunication circuitry 120. As discussed previously herein, theconcentrator 104, or base station, may be communicatively coupled to asecure cloud (i.e., server), where the various data results can beanalyzed and decisions can be made about the state of the tagged animal.An indicator indicative of a particular decision related to the taggedanimal may then be transmitted to one or more user devise 110 a-110 c sothat that user may take action in regard to the animal.

In another embodiment, the tag 102 includes one or more indicators. Forexample, the tag 102 may include one or more LEDs 216. In this regard,one or more signals indicative of the state of the tagged animal may betransmitted back to the tag 102 on the given animal from theconcentrator 104. In one embodiment, based on the state of health of theanimal, the LED may be activated. For example, the tag 102 may beprogrammed to activate the LED when one or more parameters falls below aselected threshold. In this regard, the LED may be activated when theanimal is in need of attention. By way of another example, the LED maybe activated when the animal is deemed in good health. Alternatively,different colors of LED may be used for different health states (e.g.,green for satisfactory health condition, red for less-than-satisfactoryhealth condition).

In another embodiment, feedback from the concentrator 104/controller 108to the tag 102 may update the sampling conditions of the given tag 102.For example, in a situation where the given animal is in a poor orstressed health state, the concentrator 104/controller 108 may directthe tag 102 to increase the sampling rate or change the parameters thatare sampled.

In another embodiment, diagnostic decisions may be made by users/managerthemselves based on the measured parameters, such as, but not limitedto, movement, activity, and/or temperature.

In another embodiment, the tag 102 is equipped with one or more RFIDdevices. In this regard, a particular animal may be identified utilizingan RFID reader. For example, the RFID may include, but is not limitedto, a low frequency passive RFID device. By way of another example, theRFID may include, but is not limited to, an active RFID device.

In another embodiment, the tag 102 may be equipped with one or morecommunication lines (not shown) for communicatively connecting thevarious components of the tag 102 to each other and/or to thecommunication circuitry 120.

In another embodiment, the tag 102 includes one or more power supplies.The one or more power supplies may include one or more batteries 121.The one or more batteries 121 may include one or more rechargeablebatteries. In one embodiment, one or more rechargeable batteries may besealed within the tag 102 and recharged via recharging circuitry. In oneembodiment, the recharging circuitry may include conductive chargingcircuitry. In this embodiment, the tag 102 may include an electricalcharging port, which may be electrically coupled to an external chargerfor power transfer. In another embodiment, the recharging circuitry mayinclude inductive charging circuitry. In this embodiment, the tag 102may include one or more inductive coils, which may be inductivelycoupled to one or more external inductive coils for power transfer.

While the battery 121 of FIG. 2D is depicted as a commercially availablebattery, this configuration should not be interpreted as a limitation onthe scope of the present disclosure. It is recognized herein that thebattery 121 may include a customized battery formed to have a shape thatis contoured to the shape of the particular tag. For example, thebattery 121 may take on a flat planar shape so as to fit to the profileof the tag depicted in FIG. 2D.

In another embodiment, the tag 102 may be equipped with one or morepower lines (not shown) for electrically connecting the variouscomponents of the tag 102 to the power supply 121.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a tag assembly 300, in accordance with anadditional embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, thetag assembly 300 is shaped and sized so as to fit within an ear of acow. As shown in FIGS. 3A-3B, the tag assembly 300 includes a sensor 302(e.g., temperature sensor (e.g., thermopile)). It is noted that any ofthe sensory devices described previously herein may be integrated intothe structure of the tag assembly 300. In addition, the tag assembly 300includes an attachment pass through 304 (or hole) for securing the tagassembly 300 to the animal's ear. Further, the tag assembly 300 includesa battery 306. In addition, the tag assembly 300 includes an antenna308. FIG. 3C depicts the tag assembly 300 as attached to the ear of theanimal (e.g., cow). As shown in FIGS. 3C-3D, the tag assembly 300 issuitable for attaching to the ear at a position (marked by “X”) that isapproximately between the head of the cow and the end of the ear. Inaddition, the tag assembly 300 may be placed between the 2nd and 3rdcartilage ridges (as shown in FIG. 3D, at the inside edge of the middlethird of the ear). In this regard, the tag assembly may be placed on theinner part of the middle 3rd of the ear with the antenna end of the tagassembly 300 situated at the outer edge of the ear. This will allow thetag to sit in the groove between the cartilage ridges, which will aid inmaintaining a more constant temperature as well as allowing a sensor tomeasure the temperature of the inner ear canal itself.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate multiple views of a tag assembly 400, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4Aillustrates an angled top view of the tag assembly 400. FIG. 4Billustrates a bottom view of the tag assembly 400. FIG. 4C illustrates across-sectional view of tag assembly 400.

In one embodiment, the tag body 402 may be secured to a portion of theanimal (e.g., ear of the animal) via one or more connectionpass-throughs (or holes) 408 a, 408 b. It is noted that the number ofconnector pass-throughs of the tag assembly 400 defines the number ofattachment points to the animal. It is further noted that the number andorientation of the one or more contact points may influence thestability of the tag assembly 400 on the animal. For example, the use oftwo or more punches aids in reducing rotation of the tag assembly 400out of the animal's ear.

In another embodiment, the tag assembly 400 includes a first sensor 404(e.g., first temperature sensor) and a second sensor 406 (e.g., secondtemperature sensor). For example, the first sensor 404 may be used tomeasure the ear canal temperature of the animal, while the second sensor406 may be used to measure the temperature of the face of the ear of theanimal. It is noted herein that the tag assembly 400 is not limited tothe sensor configuration described above. Rather, the sensorconfiguration is provided merely for illustrative purposes. It isrecognized herein that the two or more sensors of the tag assembly 400may include any number and any type of sensor known in the art,including those described previously herein. In another embodiment, thetag assembly 400 includes a battery 410 (e.g., replaceable battery). Itis further noted that the various components and embodiments describedpreviously herein should be interpreted to extend to the embodiments ofFIGS. 4A-4C unless otherwise noted.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a crimper tool 500 for attaching a tagassembly to an animal, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In one embodiment, the crimper tool 500 isstructured so as to connect the tag assembly 400, depicted in FIGS.4A-4C, to an ear of an animal via the one or more connectionpass-throughs, or holes, 408 a, 408 b. In one embodiment, as shown inFIG. 5A, the crimper tool 500 includes a hinged body 502. In anotherembodiment, the hinged body 502 includes a first arm 504 and a secondarm 506. In another embodiment, the crimper tool 500 includes a punctureassembly 508. In another embodiment, the punch assembly 508 includes twoor more punches. For example, the punch assembly 508 may include, but isnot limited to, a first punch 510 and a second punch 508. For example,the relative spacing of the first punch 510 and the second punch 512 maycorrespond with the spacing of the connection pass-throughs, or holes,408 a, 408 b or tag assembly 400. It is noted herein that the crimpertool 500 is not limited to two punches or the arrangement depicted inFIGS. 5A and 5B. Rather, the punch configuration of FIGS. 5A and 5B areprovided merely for illustrative purposes. For example, the punchassembly 508 may include any number of punches (e.g., two, three, fourand so on) and may be arranged in any geometrical arranged so as tocorresponding with the connection pass-throughs of the tag assembly 400.

It is noted that when operated a user presses the first arm 504 andsecond arm 506 together, which serves to drive the punches 510, 512through the animal's ear. It is further noted that the first punch 510and the second punch 512 have different lengths. A first punch 510 islonger than the second punch 512 so that the first punch 510 pierces aportion of an animal before the second punch 512 begins piercing theportion of the animal. In this manner, the punches 510, 512 serves tospread out the application of force to the animal's ear over time. Sucha configuration serves to reduce the maximum amount of applied forcerelative to two punches of identical length, which alleviates stress onthe animal and allows for easier application by the user.

FIGS. 6A-6R illustrate multiple views of a tag assembly 600, inaccordance with an additional embodiment of the present disclosure. Itis noted that any of the devices (e.g., sensors, battery, processor,communication circuitry, antenna, memory and etc.) described previouslyherein may be integrated into the structure of the tag assembly 600. Asshown in FIGS. 6A-6C, the tag body 602 of tag assembly 600 may beconfigured for being stapled to the ear of an animal with one or morestaples 604. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the tag body 602includes two or more pass through holes 605 to allow one or moreconnections of one or more staples to secure the tag assembly 600 to anear (or other portion) of the animal. In one embodiment, the two or morepass through holes 605 may include push nuts for securing the connectingportions of the one or more staples 604.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6D, the tag body 602 of tag assembly600 is shaped and sized so as to fit within an ear (e.g., on innerportion of ear) of an animal, such as, but not limited to, a cow. FIG.6E illustrates the backside of an ear of animal (e.g., cow), whereby astaple 604 is used to secure the tag assembly 600 within the canal ofthe animal's ear (as shown in FIG. 6D). While the examples provided inFIGS. 6A-6E illustrate a single staple, such a configuration is not alimitation on the present disclosure and it is recognized that thevarious tag assemblies of the present disclosure, such as, but notlimited to, tag assembly 600 may be connected to an animal's ear (orother portion of their body) with any number of staples or otherconnection devices. As noted previously herein, the tag assembly 600 maybe placed between the 2nd and 3rd cartilage ridges (as shown in FIG. 3D,at the inside edge of the middle third of the ear).

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6F, the tag assembly 600includes a backing layer 610. In one embodiment, the backing layer 610may be positioned on the backside of an animal's ear and serves toprovide structural support so as to limit damage and pain to theanimal's ear cause by the staple 604. In one embodiment, the backinglayer 610 includes two or more pass through openings 612. The passthrough openings 612 allow the connecting portions of the staple 604 topass through the body of the backing layer 610. In this regard, duringapplication of the tag body 602 to the ear, a tag body 602 and backinglayer 610 may be held to the animal's ear. Then, the connection portionsof the staple 604 may pass through the pass through openings 612,through the ear and through the pass through holes 605 of the tag body602. In another embodiment, the backing layer 610 may include one ormore ventilation holes or openings 614. The one or more ventilationholes or openings may be shaped, sized and/or positioned so as toprovide air flow to the back of the animal's ear.

The shape, size and configuration of the backing layer 610 is notlimited to that illustrate in FIG. 6F, which is provided merely forillustrative purposes. The shape, size and/or configuration of thebacking layer 610 may extend to any shape, size and/or configurationsuitable for securing a tag body 102 to an ear of an animal, whilereducing mechanical damage to the ear caused by the staple 604. FIGS.6G-6R illustrate a variety of shapes, sizes and configurations ofbacking layers 610 suitable for implementation in the variousembodiments of the present disclosure. The backing layer 610 may formedfrom any suitable material known in the art, such as, but not limitedto, plastic, rubber or like material.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6G-6L, the backing layer 610 mayinclude closed pass through openings 612 (or pass through holes). Inanother embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6M-6R, the backing layer 610 mayinclude open pass through openings.

It is further noted that the backing layer 610 may include any number,size and arrangement the ventilation openings 614 of the backing layer610 and is not limited to the arrangements of ventilation openingsdepicted in FIGS. 6G-6R.

FIGS. 6S-6Y illustrate various views of a stapling tool 650 forattaching a tag assembly, such as, but not limited to, tag assembly 600,to an animal, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In one embodiment, the stapling tool 650 is structured so asto connect the tag assembly 600 (or any other tag assembly), depicted inFIG. 6A, to an ear of an animal. In one embodiment, the connectingportions of a staple may be forced through the base portion of the tagassembly 600 to form the one or more holes 605. In this regard, at leastthe base of the tag assembly 600 may be formed from a material withwhich the connecting portions of a staple may pass through, while alsoproviding structural integrity so as to maintain connection to theanimal's ear. For instance, at least the base of the tag assembly 600may be formed from a plastic, rubber or like material. In anotherembodiment, the holes 605 of the tag assembly 600 may be pre-formed. Inone embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6F, the stapling tool 650 includes astapling unit 652 (e.g., stapler). It is noted that the stapling unit652 may include any stapling unit or stapler known in the art. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 6S, the stapling unit 652 may include astapler mechanism 659 or device for forcing one or more staples 604through the animal's ear and securing the tag assembly 600 to theanimal's ear by bending the end portions of the staple (e.g., bentstaple in FIG. 6D). For instance, upon pulling trigger 655, the staplermechanism 659 may force a staple 604 through the animal's ear and aportion of the tag assembly 600 so as to secure the tag assembly 600 tothe animal's ear. Further, as shown in FIG. 6S, the stapling unit 652may include a staple supply unit 657 (e.g., staple tray located beneathhandle 653 of stapling unit 652).

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6T, the stapling tool 650includes a tag securing bracket 654. The bracket 654 may be shaped so asto conform to the shape of the tag body of the selected tag assembly600. Further, the tag securing bracket 654 serves to secure or hold thebody of the tag assembly 600 in place, while the stapling mechanism 659drives a staple through the animal's ear and through the base portion ofthe tag assembly 600. For example, during application of a tag assembly600 to an ear of animal, the animal's ear may be positioned between thetag assembly 600 held in bracket 654 and the stapling mechanism 659.Further, the bracket 654 may provide an opposing portion or face thatserves to bend the end of the staple 604 after it is forced through theanimal's ear and the base of the tag assembly 600.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6U-6Y, the stapling tool 650includes a tag assembly magazine 656 for holding multiple tag assemblies600. For example, as shown in FIG. 6U, the tag assembly magazine mayinclude a spring 658 for pushing the tag assemblies 600 into positionfor application. In this regard, once a first tag assembly 600 isapplied to an animal's ear, the spring 658 pushes the tag assemblies 600up so the next tag assembly moves into position for tagging. The use ofmagazine 656 allows for the tagging of multiple animals in rapidsuccession. The tag assembly magazine 656 may be configured in anymanner suitable manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 6U, the tagassembly magazine 656 is arranged in a vertical configuration. By way ofanother example, as shown in FIGS. 6V-6W, the tag assembly 656 may bearranged in a horizontal configuration. By way of another example, asshown in the end view of FIG. 6X, the tag assembly 656 may be arrangedin a side-loading vertical configuration. By way of another example, asshown in the end view of FIG. 6Y, the tag assembly 656 may arranged in aside-loading horizontal configuration. It is noted herein that thepresent disclosure is not limited to the magazine configurations provideabove, which are provided merely for illustrative purposes. For example,the tag assembly magazine may be arranged in a drum or circularconfiguration.

It is noted herein that the stapling tool 650 of the present disclosureis not limited to the application of tag assembly 600 or any other tagassembly described previously herein. It is recognized herein that thestapling tool 650 may be used to connect any tag or tag assembly knownin the art to a portion (e.g., ear) of an animal with one or morestaples. FIG. 7A illustrates a schematic view 700 of a passive tag 702.In one embodiment, the stapling tool 650 may be used to connect thepassive tag 702 to a portion of the animal via staple 604. In thisregard, the connecting portions (e.g., parallel straight portions) ofthe stable 604 are forced through a portion of the passive tag 702 toform holes 704. As noted previously herein, the bracket 654 (shown inFIGS. 6F-6J) may bend the portions of the staple, which serves to securethe passive tag 702 to the animal.

FIG. 7B illustrates a schematic view 710 of a retrofitted passive tag712. In one embodiment, an adapter assembly 715 may be used to allow forstapling of the tag 712 to an animal. For example, the adapter assembly715 may include a connector 708 that passes through the pass-throughhole 710. Such a configuration then provides a connecting surface forreceiving staple 604. For example, the staple tool 650 may drive thestaple 604 through the connecting surface of the adapter assembly 715,thereby forming holes 706. In this regard, the ear of the animal may beplaced between the connecting surface of the adapter assembly 715 andthe stapling mechanism 659 (shown in FIGS. 6S-6Y) so that the staple 604secures the retrofitted passive tag 712 to the animal's ear.

All of the embodiments described herein may include storing results ofone or more steps in a storage medium. The results may include any ofthe results described herein and may be stored in any manner known inthe art. The storage medium may include any storage medium describedherein or any other suitable storage medium known in the art. After theresults have been stored, the results can be accessed in the storagemedium and used by any of the method or system embodiments describedherein, formatted for display to a user, used by another softwaremodule, method, or system, etc. Furthermore, the results may be stored“permanently,” “semi-permanently,” temporarily, or for some period oftime. For example, the storage medium may be random access memory (RAM),and the results may not necessarily persist indefinitely in the storagemedium.

Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the arthas progressed to the point where there is little distinction leftbetween hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; theuse of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that incertain contexts the choice between hardware and software can becomesignificant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs.Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that opticalaspects of implementations will typically employ optically-orientedhardware, software, and or firmware.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by theappended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, ingeneral, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g.,bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms(e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but notlimited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes.

1. A system for monitoring one or more characteristics in an animalpopulation, comprising: a plurality of animal tag assemblies, eachanimal tag assembly configured for being disposed on a member of theanimal population, each of the animal tag assemblies including one ormore sensors configured to measure one or more animal characteristics ofthe member of the animal population; a concentrator communicativelycoupled to the plurality of animal tag assemblies and configured toacquire one or more animal characteristics from the plurality of animaltag assemblies; and a controller communicatively coupled to theconcentrator, wherein the controller includes one or more processorsconfigured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory andconfigured to cause the controller to: receive the acquired one or moreanimal characteristics from the plurality of animal tag assemblies fromthe concentrator; determine a health state of one or more of the membersof the animal population based on the received one or more animalcharacteristics; and report the determined health state to one or moreuser devices.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of animaltag assemblies include a first animal tag assembly and at least a secondanimal tag assembly, wherein the first animal tag assembly is configuredfor being disposed on a first member of the animal population and the atleast a second animal tag assembly is configured for being disposed onat least a second member of the animal population.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the first animal tag assembly includes one or moresensors configured to measure one or more animal characteristics of thefirst member of the animal population and at least a second animal tagassembly includes one or more sensors configured to measure one or moreanimal characteristics of the at least a second member of the animalpopulation.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more animal tagassemblies includes a plurality of sensors.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the plurality of sensors includes a first temperature sensor anda second temperature sensor.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the firsttemperature sensor and the second temperature sensor are configured toperform a relative temperature measurement of the internal ear canal ofan animal.
 7. The system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of sensorsfurther includes an inertial measurement unit.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein at least some of the animal tag assemblies comprise: animal eartag assemblies.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the concentrator isconfigured to execute a communication protocol to acquire data from theplurality of animal tag assemblies.
 10. The system of claim 1, whereinthe determining a health state of one or more members of the animalpopulation based on the received one or more animal characteristicscomprises: comparing the acquired one or more animal characteristics toa set of standardized characteristics to determine a health state of oneor more of the members of the animal population.
 11. The system of claim1, wherein the determining a health state of one or more members of theanimal population based on the received one or more animalcharacteristics comprises: perform a differential analysis procedure todetermine a health state of one or more of the members of the animalpopulation.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more animalcharacteristics comprise: at least one of a physiological characteristicor a behavioral characteristic.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein thephysiological characteristic comprises: at least one of a temperature ora heart rate.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the behavioralcharacteristic comprises: at least one of a position characteristic, anactivity characteristic or a posture characteristic. 15-16. (canceled)17. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more user devicescomprise: a mobile computing device. 18-19. (canceled)
 20. The system ofclaim 1, wherein at least some of the animal tag assemblies include twoor more connection pass-throughs.
 21. A system for monitoring one ormore characteristics in an animal population, comprising: a plurality ofanimal tag assemblies, each animal tag assembly configured for beingdisposed on a member of the animal population, each of the animal tagassemblies including at least one of a temperature sensor, anaccelerometer, a magnetometer or gyroscope; a concentratorcommunicatively coupled to the plurality of animal tag assemblies andconfigured to acquire readout data from at least one of the temperaturesensor, the accelerometer, the magnetometer or the gyroscope; and acontroller communicatively coupled to the concentrator, wherein thecontroller includes one or more processors configured to execute a setof program instructions stored in memory and configured to cause thecontroller to: receive the acquired readout data from the at least oneof the temperature sensor, the accelerometer, the magnetometer or thegyroscope from the concentrator; determine a health state of one or moreof the members of the animal population based on the received readoutdata from at least one of the temperature sensor, the accelerometer, themagnetometer or the gyroscope; and report the determined health state toone or more user devices.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein a firsttemperature sensor and a second temperature sensor are configured toacquire a differential temperature measurement of an internal ear cavityof a member of the animal population.
 23. The system of claim 21,wherein at least some of the animal tag assemblies include two or moreconnection pass-throughs.
 24. (canceled)
 25. An animal tag assembly formonitoring one or more characteristics in an animal population,comprising: an animal tag body; one or more temperature sensors disposedon the animal tag body, wherein the animal tag body is configured forplacement on the inner portion of an ear of a member of the animalpopulation so as to acquire a temperature measurement of an internal earcavity of the member of the animal population; a backing layerconfigured for placement on an outer surface of the ear of the member ofthe animal population, wherein the animal tag body and the backing layerinclude two or more connection pass-throughs for coupling the animal tagassembly and the backing layer to the member of the animal population.